


The I Word

by CopperRose



Series: Fake AH Crew [6]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Character building at the start, Fake AH Crew, Gen, Mention of a bunch of killing, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-29
Updated: 2015-06-29
Packaged: 2018-04-06 20:16:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,984
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4235157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CopperRose/pseuds/CopperRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Some might have called it a blessing others a curse, Geoff didn't care about any shit like that, he just didn't want to hear it called immortality. The moment you call it something like that, you jinx it. That was the last thing he needed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The I Word

Geoff has known the longest of all of the Fake AH Crew that death sometimes made exceptions, that for a special few people in all the world, whether they be shot, burnt, stabbed, strangled, dismembered, or something else that equated to death, none of it stuck. Ray might have learned that he couldn't die the youngest, at the unfortunate age of fourteen, but that was still years after Geoff had died his first time. He was sixteen years old, surrounded by friends and simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Geoff was a young man back then, driving around with two of his friends – Joel Heyman and Michael Burns (called Burnie by pretty much everyone) – they weren't on the bad side of Los Santos and it wasn't in the middle of the night, that made it even harder to expecting the bad luck they had gotten. They never found out who it was, all they knew was that a ratty old man opened Geoff's car door and tore him out of the driver's seat. He would later decide it had been a bad idea to try to take the car back but he hadn't realized this then and got a stab to his ribs for his troubles.

Joel and Burnie made much wiser choices, getting out the moment the insane man ordered them too and rushing to Geoff's aid once the man was gone. Admittedly, the two were also in shock and panicking a fair bit as well but they managed to pull Geoff over to the sidewalk and flag down a car driving a by. This was a time when cell phones were scarce after all and they were forced to hope that a stranger might help them.

The Hispanic young man that stopped for them almost hadn't. He had almost done as everyone else had who saw the teens jumping and waving like crazy people but then he saw the one curled up and hunched over, looking like he was dying. Unlike the three in front of him, he had come from a rougher side of town and had seen his fair share violence and death and knew if he didn't help the three it was likely none of the pompous assholes from the better side of town would.

With the hope he wasn't about to be mugged, he pulled over and unlocked his doors.

“We need to get to a hospital, please!” Burnie practically begged. “W-we'll pay-”

“It's fine, get in!” The stranger insist. The two pulled Geoff into the man's back seat and the car started up again, raving to the nearest hospital. “There's blanket in the back seat, use it and apply pressure to stop the bleeding.”

The teens tried to do as they were told but this was all strange and frightening to them. They didn't know how this stranger that was around the same age as all three of them knew what he was doing. They half expected the ride to go wrong and this new teen to murder them and abandon their corpses in an alley somewhere.

Joel was fairly certain those were just his nerves getting to him though.

Everyone in the car would remember the way Geoff began to gasp and wheeze and chock for the rest of their lives. None of them knew that the blade had managed to go between Geoff's ribs and pierced one of his lungs. Even if they had known, there was little they could do. They had only gotten a few blocks before he stopped responding to their voices and passed out. Less than a block after that, he stopped breathing all together.

Geoff's whole reality faded into black and he couldn't help but think about how bullshit all of this was. He wasn't ready to die! He had so much stuff left to do! He only had a bit more of high school left, he hadn't gotten to drink liquor legally yet, he'd only been with one woman (and she fucking talked to trees!) He couldn't die yet and he wouldn't, not when there was so much left to experience!

Geoff opened his eyes and he was no longer in the car but he wasn't in a hospital either. He was on the side of the road, watching the blue car that had stopped for him and his friends driving passed him only to swerve a bit and then come to a harsh stop. Three men jumped out of the car and raced towards him.

His friends hugged and then punched and then grabbed his shirt and tried to check the stab wound. He let them, mostly because he was too lost in the sheer fact that he was standing there feeling no pain even though he knew he had been in the back of that car dying just seconds ago. He had died, he _knew_ he had. A black void had threatened to swallow him but then it just didn't. He didn't know how to handle this information.

What finally snapped Geoff out of his daze was not his friends questions but the stare of the young man who had stopped for them. His expression was one of knowing and understanding, how he knew, however, Geoff wasn't sure he wanted the answer. And yet, he was pretty sure he would be the only person to ask.

“I'm Geoff.” He managed to say, looking passed his friends and directly at the man.

The other looked like he was honestly weighing whether or not he should introduce himself. Finally he must have decided the pros outweighed the cons. “I'm Gus and I'm guessing you've got questions.”

Geoff nodded.

“Alright,” Gus sighed, “well I'm hungry, let's do this over lunch. I was just going to a diner before I picked you up.”

The meal had been... strange to say the least. It felt much longer than it had been as Gus talked to them about the finer points of death and mortality and about how some people didn't have those luxuries. Joel and Burnie were ready to walk away from the man less than five minute after his story began but Geoff was hanging off of every word, like it was a bedtime story and he was a child.

“Normal people don't even remember it when you die,” that had been the point that all three were caught in the story, “after a few seconds they don't remember your face or your name or that you were ever even there to begin with.”

“Hold on a sec.” Burnie spoke up. “What the hell exactly do you mean by _normal?_ ”

Gus shrugged. “People who can die.”

“But... me and Burnie remember Geoff dying.” Joel whispered, trying to avoid getting attention from the other people in the diner.

“Yeah, I know.” He agreed with him.

The three could only stare for a few moment before Joel hunched forward and whispered harshly, “Are you fucking telling me were _immortal?_ ”

“No!” Geoff snapped at once. He got a look from one of the waitresses and he quickly lowered his voice. “No, do not call it that.”

The other men all gave him weird looks, even Gus.

“But that's what it is.” Burnie insisted.

“We don't know.” Geoff said. “We don't know if it will last forever or if it'll end tomorrow or if there's a set number of times a person can die. The point is that you tempt fate by saying something is definite.”

The four of them exchanged looks. In a strange way they had made a silent agreement that maybe Geoff was right. From then on the group would call it “the I word” and only ever mentioned it if someone else brought it up first. Geoff liked it that way.

~BREAK~

Late teen years and early twenties is often considered the time that children start to truly learn who they are, the time of experimentation and curiosity and defiance of authority. For Geoff and his friends, their experimenting was far more dangerous than the average teen. In the short few years Geoff, Burnie, Joel, and Gus had all become good friends and had begun daring each other to do more and more dangerous things. No drugs but they had done everything from running though traffic to jumping off bridges and building. Mortality had become more of a game to them than something to worry about.

In time the group attracted others, the first being Matt – who hit Joel with his car in the middle of the night. His anger at their stupidity had ultimately given them the name of there... gang? They didn't know if that's what they were but it felt right to call themselves that. Regardless of what they were, they had very proudly began to call themselves the Cock Bites and thought it hilarious when they did.

Shortly after they met Matt they met Kara in a hospital, apparently very familiar with their inability to die and she then pointed Barbara to them after the woman had an accident that she should have died from. Some time later, during a dare involving fireworks and a jug of gasoline, Burnie and Gus met Chris and Aaron. Many others found there way into the group, it was actually amazing to them how many of them there was. It was like they were attracted to each other somehow, all being drawn to Los Santos, they just weren't sure why.

The only trouble was, the more people that were brought into the fold, the more suffocating it felt to Geoff but he didn't know why.

And then, as though it was the answer to the question that Geoff didn't even know he was asking himself and reality, he met Jack on a lonely stretch of the highway. His thumb was out, his hair was a mess, and his clothes looked as though they had been set on fire. It was passed nine at night, he was clenching a heavy wrench in the hand he wasn't trying to hitchhike with, and he looked pissed – no normal or sane person was going to stop for this man. Geoff pulled over, knowing all too well that he was what the Cock Bites had started to call “gifted”.

“If you promise not to try to bludgeon me with that thing, I'll give you a ride into town.” Geoff had been half joking when he said this but also half not. He really didn't want to lose another car. The Cock Bite had the bad habit of treating their cars and each other's cars as though they would come back good as new like their owners did. Unfortunately, they didn't.

The heavier man looked shocked to see that someone had actually stopped for him. Clearly he hadn't expected anyone like him to be within a hundred miles of him, nor did he expect a stranger with that much kindness. He didn't put the tool down but he did accepted the ride warily.

“Thank you.” He managed once they continued down the road. “You have no idea how long I've been walking.”

Geoff only smiled and nodded.

The two managed to stay silent for a short while but Geoff felt his curiosity getting the better of him. “So, not meaning to pry, but don't suppose I can ask exactly what happened.”

Jack scowled, clearly not caring for the question. “My car caught on fire,” he started but sounded almost bored with the explanation, “then it exploded, then I died and woke up on the side of the road.”

Something told Geoff that his explanation was exactly what had happened but from his tone it sounded as though he was being entirely sarcastic. Geoff laughed and he could see the annoyance on the other man's face.

“That's life on Los Santos, am I right?” He teased a bit. “I remember my first time.” Geoff received an odd look but he kept going. “I was sixteen and got stabbed by some crazy guy before he stole my car. Then my boys said I faded out of reality and showed up on the side of the road.” He gave a pleased sigh. “Good times.”

The other man gawked at him. “Y-you're fucking serious! You're-”

“I'm Geoff and you would be surprised how many of us there are.”

“... J- I'm Jack... Hi, I guess.”

Geoff glanced at him and thought over what to do next. “I'm not sure if this is all new to you or not but if you like, I could take you to meet some friends of mine. They like to say they can help you but, to be honest, it's really just a support group more than anything. Not that that's a bad thing if that's what you need.”

Jack looked like he was thinking about it but then shook his head. “I've known for a few years, I don't need an explanation or comforting.” He gave an exhausted sigh. “All I want right now is somewhere to sleep and take a shower.”

He didn't know why he did it. He didn't really know Jack, he wasn't sure if he could trust him, wasn't sure if he would wake up in the morning and find his apartment empty but he still smiled at the other man. “Well you're in luck, cuz I've got a shower and a couch and I'm in a very charitable mood today. No promises how long that'll last but feel free to abuse it while you can.”

Jack smiled. “I think I'll take you up on that offer.”

~BREAK~

Neither was sure how it happened but it had gone from Jack staying in Geoff's apartment for a single night to Jack staying a week and then a month. Eventually, if Geoff woke up and didn't see Jack somewhere around the apartment, it just felt off. And, in a strange way, Jack became Geoff's reprieve from the Cock Bites.

That's not saying the two of them didn't do some very dangerous and very stupid things just like the rest of them but there was just something different when the two of them did those stupid things together. They were _more_ stupid somehow, more dangerous, more skimming the line of morally gray when it was the two of them. The Cock Bites didn't like it when people were hurt by their experimenting, they never stole things, they were never really a danger to anyone but themselves. Geoff and Jack were not like them at all when they hung out together.

The first thing they had stolen together was a car. It was owned by some drunk prick who swerved off the road and almost hit both of the men while they were walking home. (Blaine and Aaron had played a game of chicken with his and Blaine's car earlier that day. Aaron had unfortunately won and broke his promise to return Geoff's car back to him in one piece.) The man had staggered out of his car and had started rambling an incoherent apology. Geoff, also a bit drunk and very pissed off that the dumb ass in front of him almost hit them both (sure they could come back to life easily enough but it still ruined their clothes and hurt like a bitch), gave the man a solid punch and had managed to knock him out.

The two had been left with an unconscious drunk and a car that's keys had been left in the ignition. A good, normal person might have called the police or might have put him back in his car or even just have left the man there and walked away but Jack and Geoff weren't good, normal people and besides that, it was a long walk back to Geoff's apartment. It was almost funny how neither needed to say anything, Geoff simply climbed into the driver's seat and when he looked to his right Jack was already in the passenger's seat.

They didn't keep or even sell the car after that (neither were sure at the time where a person could even sell a car illegally) and they ended up abandoning it a few blocks from their apartment but it was the starting point their life of crime. They only got worse from there or, at least, what a “normal” person might call worse. A few cars here and there, at first just using them to get home or to where ever they were going at the time but the funny thing about almost anything is that the longer you do it, the better you tend to get at it, this was no exception. Before long they were selling cars from around Los Santos regularly.

They went on like this for almost a year without any harm coming to anyone but in some way they both knew that this couldn't last. They were finally caught in the middle of stealing a car, the owner ran out of his house with a shotgun, shouting about how he would kill them both. He opened fire without much hesitation and hit Jack in the stomach. Geoff didn't put much thought into what he did next, he knew even if Jack died he would likely come back in seconds but it still pissed him off. He charged the other man and managed to fight the gun out of the other man's grasp and then turned it on him.

The stranger was laying dead in front of him and unlike every other person he had ever seen die, he did not fade away. Geoff could only stand there gawking at what he had done until Jack was standing beside him and gave him a solid shack. Sirens were crying, calling through out the streets and telling them it was time to go before they got caught.

The next time one of them killed it was Jack's doing, another robbery gone wrong but they had tried to forget it, along with the one that followed that one and then the next and the next. They didn't know when it had happened but eventually the blood in their hands stopped feeling wrong, eventually they started enjoying it and then they started craving it. They started looking for fights, started long car chases with police, started gang battles and winning even though there was only two of them.

It was around this time that the Cock Bites noticed the two's activities.

~BREAK~

Geoff laughed so hard he thought he might start to cry, Jack wasn't holding it together much better. The members of the Cock Bites were all around the two men's small apartment, all of them looking incredibly serious. They had sat them down and one of them had actually said the line “this is an intervention.” How were the two of them suppose to not laugh at that?

“This is fucking serious!” Burnie had shouted. “You fuckers are...” He paused and lowered his voice. “You're _killing_ people, people who can't come back.”

Geoff hadn't thought they knew about their side business but he managed to skip surprise and go directly to annoyance. He rolled his eyes and looked to Jack. “You want a beer? I'm pretty sure this is gonna take a while.” He stood only to be forced back down by a pair of men.

“What the fuck are you two thinking?” Kara demanded from across the room. “You're hurting so many people! If you don't care about them then think about what happens if they describe you to cops.”

“Hasn't happened yet.” Jack said dully. The heavier man had never felt like he was truly one of this team, it was hard to give a damn about what they had to say.

“If you two can't control yourselves, then we can't hang out together.” Matt spoke up. “We're all suppose to be there for each other, that's why the Cock Bites started gathering, you want to give that up so you can be murderers?”

Geoff sighed, he had planned to bring this up eventually but he just didn't know how to do it yet. Now was probably both the best and worst time he could do it. “We have so much fucking potential, you all realize that, right?” He room was silent with confusion. “Look at us, we haven't found out how to die yet, we're all pretty smart, we know this fucking city inside and out. Together we could cover pretty much every field we might come across. Why are we wasting our time playing games with these powers and doing boring normal jobs? We could fucking run this city if we used what we have in the right way!”

Everyone gawked at him.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Gus demanded.

“You realize you sound like a god damn super villain right now, right?” Joel added. “'Run this city', what does that even mean?”

“It means we be a real gang instead of this fake bullshit you guys call a gang!” Jack barked back. “Everything you guys do is pointless. At least Geoff and I have been making money with this power. You guys just wreck each other's cars and try to see who can live the longest after doing stupid shit.”

“What's wrong with just having fun?” Barbara demanded and half the room nodded in agreement.

“Killing myself stopped being fun for me a while ago.” Geoff admitted.

Burnie scowled at him. “So you have to kill people because you're _bored_ with immortality?”

In honesty, Burnie had known better, every member of the Cock Bites knew better. Geoff had very few things that truly get under his skin, he might have even tolerated being forced to sit there and listen to them without being allowed booze but he was no about to ignore him using “the I word” so casually. Geoff was up and swinging before anyone could stop him.

He gave a solid punch to Burnie's face. “Don't fuck call it that! That's not what we are, I don't know what we are but that's _not_ it!”

Normally, when this happened, everyone would back off but today was different. Everyone was upset and Burnie simply wanted his friends back to the good, reasonable person he had been when they were younger. Throwing a punch of his own won't bring the old Geoff back but damn if it didn't make him feel better. Unfortunately, the fist fight that followed only managed to make them both feel worse.

A table and a few dishes were destroyed before the men could be pulled apart. Jack was behind Geoff, attempting to convince him that fighting the other man would be pointless. Meanwhile Gus and Joel tried to remind Burnie that Geoff was their friend. The two glared at each other and it became clear that this wasn't entirely true any longer.

“Get out of my apartment.” Geoff ordered them all. “And don't come back, any of you.”

Burnie was the first to go, shaking off the men that had been holding him back and stormed right out. The rest followed reluctantly, most looking depressed and hurt by his words but he didn't stop any of them. Finally he and Jack were the only ones left.

When Jack moved away from him, he half thought the other man had had second thoughts decided to try to go with one of them. He felt unbelievably relieved when he saw Jack return with a part of beers in hand and offered one to Geoff. The sat and began to drink as though none of that had just happened.

“So, what do we do now?” Jack asked seriously.

Geoff took another drink and thought it over. What _did_ they do?

“... I guess we're gonna need a new name.” He said finally.

Jack laughed and Geoff joined him. Things were going to be okay, even if it was just the two of them for a while.

**Author's Note:**

> I would just like to start saying that I know that Burnie, Joel, Geoff, and Gus have not known each other for as long as the story implies, I'm taking liberties but it's mostly because I've been looking for a way to include the Rooster Teeth employees to my canon, that and I really wanted write out how the crew began. Also, yeah, the Cock Bites isn't that original of a name, I know.
> 
> All in all, I'm actually pretty pleased with how this turned out, though I feel like it was kind of rushed even though I've spent a while on it. Hope you've enjoyed because I enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> On a side note, I've got a multi-chaptered fic in the works connected with this serse, so expect that sometime in the next two weeks.
> 
> I apologize for any and all typos.


End file.
